Seven steps to a good salary claim

“Salary negotiation is a year-round job.”

Adviser Petter Lysrud Johannessen from the Negotiations Department of Forskerforbundet has many years of experience negotiating salaries for employees in the state, municipal and private sectors.

Although local salary negotiations happen once a year, the salary claim you submit to your local union representative is something you should keep in mind all year.

The salary claim is a written document that you submit to your local union representative in Forskerforbundet, who will then submit the claim to the employer and present arguments on your behalf during negotiations about the local allocation (or “pot”).

“Negotiations differ from place to place, because every organisation is unique and has different objectives,” says Johannessen.

Even so, he has some good advice for how to write a good salary claim, regardless of where you are employed.

Here are Johannessen’s seven steps to a better salary claim:

1. Familiarise yourself with the local salary policy

Before writing a salary claim, the first (and perhaps most important) thing to do is find out what your workplace’s local salary policy is.

“The local salary policy contains criteria that union representatives and the employer have agreed. It should be available on the intranet, but if not, contact HR or the payroll department,” says Johannessen.

The salary policy differs from organisation to organisation, but it describes what is needed for you to have an increase in salary. There may be criteria such as responsibility, seniority, competence, results and so on. The criteria should be objective, not subjective things like “friends with the boss”.

In addition to the criteria, the parties may also have locally agreed certain priorities for this year’s settlement – for example, that there will be a focus on specific groups or expertise.

Johannessen advises: “Your salary claim should be based on these criteria and priorities.”

2. Carry out an honest self-assessment

Look at the criteria in the salary policy and measure your own efforts over the past year against them. Are there areas where you deliver particularly well? Have you contributed over and above what is expected in your position? Have you been given additional responsibility?

Johannessen explains, taking as his example an employee in a research administration:

“In your day-to-day work, you will be expected to help write applications for research funding and develop work processes – doing that will not count extra in your favour.

“Something that would count extra could be spotting new opportunities and creating good solutions for operations. Maybe you have streamlined application writing at the university where you work, saving money in operations every year – that would count in your favour.”

Johannessen emphasises that it can be difficult to remember all your good results and efforts when it is time to write salary claims, so it is a good idea to think about it throughout the year.

“The best advice I’ve heard was from a union representative who recommended having a Word document on your desktop in which you write down everything you’ve done at work that is out of the ordinary.”

3. Use salary statistics

When comparing your salary level with others in a similar position, there are two sets of statistics to look at.

The first is the statistics prepared centrally by Forskerforbundet, and the other is local to the workplace and can be obtained from your union representative.

“The central statistics are great for comparing salaries across universities, colleges and other organisations, but they primarily reflect the employment market in general,” comments Johannessen. “The local statistics, on the other hand, will show whether your salary is low or high compared to others in the same position at your workplace.”

He warns against using the salaries of named colleagues as part of the basis for comparison and reasoning.

“There may be good reasons why that person earns more than you that you are not aware of. Stick to the statistics, and point out that your salary is on the low side.”

4. Use the salary review actively

The salary review prior to submitting a salary claim provides a valuable opportunity to talk to your employer about your salary. This means you can discuss what you need to do to get the salary development you expect.

“In this conversation, you can make your point in favour of your salary claim and receive specific feedback from your employer,” says Johannessen.

“It’s also a good opportunity to show that you have expectations about your salary. Always settling for what you’re given won’t get you anywhere. It also gives you the chance to get a realistic perspective before you submit your salary claim.”

Before the review, it is a good idea to get your salary expectations clear in your own mind, based on what you have contributed to the organisation.

“Also remember that the manager may not necessarily be familiar with your efforts at work. They may be a manager for many employees, or they may be a new manager, so it’s good to highlight what you’ve done.”

5. Formulate a short, concise and objective salary claim

When the time comes to write your actual salary claim, there are a few important things to keep in mind.

“Link your reasoning to the points in the local salary policy. Write briefly and concisely. Your claim should not exceed one A4 page in total.”

Johannessen believes it can be easy to feel that you have to exaggerate and talk yourself up for every point in the salary policy, regardless of performance or whether there is anything to say about the point. The most important thing is to highlight what you do well.

Your writing style is also an important part of the salary claim. Avoid charged words, and do not write when your emotions are high.

“You must be objective and professional. Express yourself politely but firmly. Remember that the claim may be read out or referred to in negotiations, so it should come across as serious and constructive.”

One example he gives of how such a claim could be formulated goes like this:

“I feel that I have made quite a bit of progress this year. Several employees have left the department, and I have therefore taken on responsibility for various tasks that I feel are at a higher level than what I was doing a year ago. At the same time, I feel that my salary is lower than it should be based on the statistics.”

Although the salary is personal to you, the salary claim is formal, and it is important to focus on the facts. It can backfire if you get too personal or just write “I deserve a higher salary” without giving a good reason.

“You should also avoid threatening to leave if you don’t get a higher salary. That approach can be perceived as petty and unprofessional – as if you didn’t care about your job,” says Johannessen.

And remember that good, objective arguments will quickly get lost in the review if you are too negative in your claim.

6. Suggest a specific, realistic salary

Once you have given your reasons, set a specific figure that reflects what you believe is the right salary for you going forward.

“By stating an amount, you demonstrate that you have carefully considered how much increase you think is reasonable, which gives the negotiators a starting point.”

If you have done something special at work – for example, initiated efficiencies that cut operating costs – you can also talk to your union representative about how that should affect your salary claim. It is important to pay attention to the settlement framework when formulating your claim. Johannessen gives an example where the framework for the settlement is 3.3 per cent.

“You have to determine where the line is between realistic and unreasonable. If you believe that your salary is low, have taken on extra tasks or have been given more responsibility over the past year, 5 per cent is not necessarily unrealistic,” he says.

“However, if there have been no special changes in your tasks, responsibilities and so on, you will probably end up around the framework, which in this example is 3.3 per cent. To have some room for negotiation, you can still make a claim for 3.6 or 3.7 per cent. And in any case, you mustn’t demand less than the framework.”

For example, your salary claim could be formulated as follows:

“I request that my annual salary be increased to NOK 750,000.”

7. Create a good starting point for the union representative

The union representative at the workplace is the person who usually submits your salary claim and negotiates on your behalf.

In some workplaces, this work is done with assistance from Forskerforbundet, something Johannessen has been involved in on several occasions. The experience from both small and large organisations is that the employee submitting the salary claim should check their wording one more time to make the union representative’s job easier.

“The more concise and specific you are, the easier it is for the union representative to present your claim in a good way.”

Depending on the size of the workplace, there may be anywhere from 10 to 500 salary claims for union representatives to review.

“If you submit a multiple-page claim, it will be difficult to extract the essence. Some people think they have to write down everything they have done during the year. But if you do that, the good points will probably become swamped, making things difficult for the union representative. Your reasoning should be linked to the criteria in the local salary policy. This makes it easier for the union representative to present it to the employer.”

Johannessen recommends that you also send the claim to your line manager. The manager also submits priorities to the employer’s negotiating committee.

“If the claims from the union representative and the line manager are quite similar, the employer is more likely to conclude ‘There is someone here who should be given a raise.’”

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Salary claim

A written request for a higher salary that you as a member put forward in connection with local pay negotiations in the public and private sectors.

• Your local union representative will inform you about deadlines and send out claim forms in advance of the negotiations.
• Send your salary claim to your local Forskerforbundet representative before the specified deadline.
• If you do not have a local branch or local representative at your workplace, please contact the Forskerforbundet central staff.
• If your claim is granted (in whole or in part), your salary will be adjusted with effect from the agreed date.

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Significant change in position

In some cases, the work involved in the position may have changed to such an extent that there may be a basis for a larger salary increase.

If the current salary is NOK 700,000, it may well be that the correctly adjusted salary will be NOK 800,000. However, local negotiations may not be the right place to put this claim forward, as the “pot” is limited.

If there have been special developments in your position, separate negotiations may be an option. Talk to your union representative for clarification.